Some Perspective On Perspective

 

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it."

~Mary Engelbreit

Let's face it, sometimes bad things happen to good people. Some of these things are avoidable, other times there is nothing the individual could have done personally to prevent the situation. To be the victim of a circumstance is one thing, but having a victim mentality is something all together different. Having a victim's perspective is not only dis-empowering and uninspiring to ourselves and those around us, it is not a sound tactical practice. This (victim's) perspective in life or in the moment can cause us a great deal of pain, not to mention, when we are in this state we are choosing to give away our power and any chance of a tactical advantage.

You may have heard me talk about using Conflict as an Opportunity before? Well, this is the method that  makes that possible: Changing our perspective.

Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl said, "We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we respond to it."

That sounds like good advice, but HOW can we achieve this perspective and how can we use it to have more confidence, make better decisions and live a better life? In order to begin to answer that question we have to look at how we perceive things. I break perception down very simply:

1. Pessimist: Glass Half Empty
2. Optimist: Glass Half Full
3. Realist: The Water Level is what it is...and?

Once you begin to understand that your perspective is under your control and that over time, not overnight you can change that perspective so you can begin making better choices more consistently, rather than getting upset because of something that happened to you or because of something someone did to you or anything else that is out of your control (which is pretty much anything outside of your attitude and choices); then you will realize the true power that you have always had.

Remember to relax, breath, understand what matters and what doesn't; what you have control over and what you don't; what options you have and don't have. Think how will all of this will matter in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years, 10 lifetimes. How can you make a choice that is most good / least harm for everyone, the best that you can in that moment? 

Let's look at a victim's perspective vs. an empowered perspective:

Victim's Perspective:

The focus is on:

1. Problems
2. Emotions
3. Limitations (What they can't control)

An Empowered (PeaceWalker) Perspective:

The focus is on:

1. Solutions / The big picture
2. Options (What they CAN control)
3. Action (What's the Next Step)

Practice embracing and using the PeaceWalker's Empowered Perspective and see how your world changes. I'll give you a hint: When YOU change, you'll notice your world changes when you put things into perspective.

Good luck!

Keep Going,
~Craig